


Aces

by digimaniac33



Category: RWBY
Genre: Background Bees, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-09
Updated: 2020-09-09
Packaged: 2021-03-06 14:48:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,254
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26380648
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/digimaniac33/pseuds/digimaniac33
Summary: Yang thinks Weiss disapproves of her relationship with Blake, but a conversation reveals much more than that
Comments: 4
Kudos: 19





	Aces

**Author's Note:**

> set during a very nebulous "Volume 8" time (i usually never write things in time periods that the original media hasn't covered yet but ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯), so elements of this will probably feel out of place once the next volume is done but this fic literally possessed me at work and i'd rather put it out there now than later when i know it's weird

It was the little things that got to her.

The occasional blank, negative look if she and Blake were close to each other, hesitance when she might have to team up with them without Ruby, sitting away from them at meals… there was no single moment that made Yang uneasy, just a lot of small ones that added up.

And what they added up to, Yang decided, was that she and Weiss had to have a talk.

* * *

Weiss fiddled with one of the ratchet drivers set out on the table next to her. For some reason, Yang had asked for her assistance in checking over one of the hover bikes they’d stolen. (“Liberated!” Yang had countered. “ _Stolen._ ”) She had some basic mechanical knowledge, of course, any good Huntress would for weapon maintenance alone, but her practical experience was much less than Ruby’s, or even Oscar’s, and vehicles were a different class entirely. Thus far, her “assistance” had consisted of handing Yang a tool if she asked for it and looking around the warehouse they’d holed up in.

Right now, Yang was on her back underneath the machine, checking… something about manifold lines? Weiss had no idea, and even less of an idea why Yang had asked for her, when Ruby was vastly more talented in this realm.

Well, on second thought, perhaps she did understand. The sisters had been a little frostier as of late. It led to an atmosphere Weiss was sadly familiar with.

But they had another teammate, one that Yang had made plenty of excuses to be alone with before. Why stop now?

“Hey, hand me a 3/8” socket?” Yang’s voice rang out from beneath the bike, her hand already waiting to receive the part.

Looking over the spread of tools, Weiss selected the requested socket head and placed it in Yang’s hand. “Here it is.”

“Perfect, thanks.” The hand disappeared and more mechanical noises issued forth. The previous silence didn’t last for long, though. “So, you’re probably wondering why I asked for your help on this.”

“The thought may have crossed my mind,” Weiss admitted, having thought of nothing else since they’d started.

“Well, with everything that went down, we haven’t had a chance to talk for a while. Wanted to make sure everything was copacetic between us.”

“What?” Weiss was flabbergasted at the implication. “Of course we are! Why would you even say that?” Weiss had been through a few very personal hells in Atlas, but Yang hadn’t been part of the problem at all. In fact, her support was part of how Weiss made it through.

Yang pulled herself out from under the bike, stretching out her shoulders. “That’s good. That’s really good. So,” and here she looked straight at Weiss. “You don’t have any problems with Blake and me?”

 _Ah._ Weiss winced and faced the floor. She’d tried to hide her awkward actions around the others, but clearly she’d gotten rusty at hiding. She also constantly forgot just how perceptive Yang was.

Through her bangs, she watched Yang nod slowly. “Okay. Out with it. Do you have something against the two of us together? I didn’t think you’d have any issues with it, but I have met your dad so - “

“No!” Weiss cried out, whipping her eyes up to meet Yang’s. “That’s not it at all! I’m really glad you two have each other, I can see how happy it makes you. Both of you.” Unable to continue eye contact, she looked at her hands, which were tightly squeezed together. “It’s not like that at all.”

She could feel Yang relax. “Okay. I believe you. So what is it, then? I know something’s weird with you. Is it…” She paused, obviously trying to find the right words. “I know you left a lot of things in limbo with your family, does it have something to do with that?”

Weiss shook her head. “No, that’s…” She reconsidered her words. “That might be part of it, I don’t know.” Weiss sighed, trying to find the right way to express how she felt around Yang and Blake these days. “I’ve… never really been around a… _couple_ before. Not a happy one, at least,” she said wryly. “So I don’t know what I’m supposed to do, or how I’m supposed to act. It’s all very confusing, to be perfectly honest.”

Yang laughed. “That makes three of us.” She ducked her head and shoulders back under the bike. “I’m just glad it’s not anything we’re doing, at least. Treat us the same as always, and it should all work out.”

Weiss smiled. “I should be able to do that, as long as I don’t find you, well, _copulating_ in public -“

There were a few loud mechanical banging noises accompanied by a yelp from Yang. She pushed herself out from under the bike, a red mark on her forehead and a blush spread across both cheeks. “ _Copulating?_ ”

“It’s a perfectly reasonable word,” Weiss riposted, ignoring the blush on her own face.

“Yeah, if you’re like eighty,” Yang countered. “Not something you’ll have to worry about, anyway. We’re taking things slow. _Very_ slow.”

Some part of Weiss didn’t want any more details, but a stronger piece was curious. “Really? How slow is slow?” Her blush intensified. “Never mind, I don’t want any sordid details.”

“There aren’t any of those, believe me. All we’ve done is hold hands, really.” Yang looked down at her own hands sitting in her lap. “Which is still really nice, I’ve gotta say.”

Weiss frowned. “That’s all you’ve done? I didn’t think Blake was that shy.”

Yang looked away from Weiss. “… She’s not the one asking us to go slow.”

“… Oh.” Weiss hadn’t expected that from Yang. She’d always been gregarious, larger than life in every possible way. Anyone who knew her would’ve bet she’d treat relationships the same way. “Is that… is it because…” Weiss growled, unable to find the right words to ask what she wanted to know. “Ugh! Why is this so difficult to talk about!”

Yang chuckled, leaning back on her hands now. “You’re not even in this relationship, don’t get your panties in a twist.” Ignoring Weiss’s flustered splutters, Yang chewed her lip before saying, “I’ve actually never been in a relationship before, you know. This is a _lot_ of firsts for me, and… I don’t wanna mess things up.” She turned to the bike, grabbing a piece of cloth to polish the detailing.

More news to Weiss. She’d never seen Yang with anyone at Beacon, but she’d always assumed Yang was being discreet. Sharing a room with your younger sister would make it difficult to bring any paramours around. But even before Beacon? It didn’t seem possible. “You’ve really never been with… _anyone_ before now?”

Yang shrugged, still polishing the bike. “Wasn’t interested in anyone. I wasn’t even interested in Blake like that at first. I mean, I wanted to get along with her, of course, and she really freaked me out with how intense she got about the whole White Fang thing, but it wasn’t that much different than how I felt for you, or Nora, or Jaune.” She chuckled. “Still a little different than how I felt about Ruby, of course. It wasn’t until, you know -“ she gestured with her right arm, “When I was lying in bed for days wishing Blake was there that I realized how much my feelings had changed. I was angry and hurt, but I also just missed having her around. Took me seeing her in Haven to figure out I didn’t just miss talking to her, but also how her eyes wrinkled when she was trying to hold back a laugh, or the way her arms moved throwing Gambol Shroud and -“ She coughed suddenly. “Sorry, those are those ‘sordid details’ you wanted me to avoid, aren’t they?” She put as much teasing emphasis on the air quotes as she could, turning to smile at Weiss. Her smile quickly melted into a look of concern. “Whoa, did I say something wrong? Are you okay?”

Weiss placed a hand on her cheeks and was surprised to find tears there. “Oh. I - I didn’t realize I was doing that. Why am I crying?” She hugged her arms close to her body, trying to take stock of just what was sending her emotions all over the place. Nothing about Yang’s story was that moving, really - nothing different than a half dozen movies she’d been forced to watch at one time or another. The only real difference was… “You didn’t feel attracted to anyone? Not ever?”

Yang mutely shook her head, one hand reaching out as though she wanted to comfort Weiss but wasn’t sure touching her would do more good than harm. Weiss wasn’t sure of that herself.

She concentrated on breathing, giving herself something to focus on rather than the confused swirl of emotions she was trying to figure out. With each breath, she thought about how, as she’d grown older and seen how her parents’ love for each other was a brittle lie, she’d promised to herself she would never be with someone she didn’t love. She grew up amidst tutors and politicians and business moguls, but she hadn’t been completely isolated from her peers. There had been a great deal of physical isolation, but the emotional isolation was only set in stone as she saw those around her start to flirt and tease each other, sneaking off in pairs (or trios, as one mortifying memory resurfaced) to do who knew what. Weiss didn’t know, and she’d had no intentions to find out.

After some time, she thought she was just - broken, somehow. Like her parents’ broken marriage had stopped something up in her, and she would never be the same as everyone else. She channeled that difference into ambition, into a drive to be the best at whatever she chose to do, but she still lay awake at night sometimes convinced that no matter how much she achieved, she would still be flawed at her very core.

But Yang… she hadn’t had an idyllic upbringing, but she’d had a mother and a father and a sister who loved her, and she turned out just the same as Weiss? She could be so full of warmth and love and affection without that one kind of love that everyone had always found so important?

Weiss smiled, even though tears were still falling from her eyes. She wasn’t sad, just _overwhelmed_ by a feeling she hadn’t even known she was missing. Yang’s hand still hung in the air between them, and Weiss took it with one of her own. “Sorry to worry you,” she apologized, wiping a tear with her free hand. “I was just… extremely surprised to hear anyone say something like that. I thought I was the only one who didn’t feel those kinds of feelings.” She laughed a little. “Guess I’m not the only Ice Queen, huh?

“Oh, Weiss.” Yang pulled her into a hug, much gentler than her usual bear hugs but no less affectionate. Weiss hugged back just as warmly, still marveling at how easy it was to show affection with this girl who’d once been a stranger to her. “If I’d known you had no idea, I would’ve spoken up ages ago. It’s just how some people are. It doesn’t change anything, believe me.”

It changed everything, but Weiss knew what Yang meant. “Thank you.” She gave herself a few more moments before pulling away from the hug. “I suppose we should get back to work on the bike, hm?”

“What? Oh!” Yang laughed. “That was just an excuse, this baby’s working perfectly fine. I just had to clear the air between us, and I’m glad we did.” Now she grinned mischievously. “Now I have someone else to make fun of Ruby next time she gets shmoopy over a new crush.” Her eyes dimmed a little, the familiar joke hitting a little different in a new context, but Yang didn’t let her mood drop.

On her part, Weiss just shook her head sadly. “But to think, you’re the one who’s getting all ‘shmoopy’ now.” She enunciated the bizarre word as cleanly as she could.

“Am not!” Yang shot back as she got to her feet. She offered a hand to Weiss, helping her out of her chair.

“‘Oh Blake, your eyes are so pretty when you’re trying not to laugh, which you do all the time since I’m such a buffoon -‘“ Weiss’s Yang impression got interrupted by an arm curling around her neck. “Hey, let go! Don’t you dare manhandle me, you ruffian!”

“Sorry Weiss, this is the consequence of your own actions. I’m completely blameless here,” Yang blatantly lied as she pulled Weiss along in a headlock, one she might have been able to escape if she’d used her left arm instead of her right. As it was, Weiss stood no chance. Luckily, Yang released her after not too long, though she left her arm slung over Weiss’s shoulder. “Besides, if you think that’s bad, I should show you some of Ruby’s old notebooks from Signal.”

“Oh believe me, I saw some of the things she doodled during Professor Port’s class. I am well aware of how ridiculous she gets.”

“Yeah.” Yang’s smile was a little strained now. She wasn’t just thinking about Ruby’s crushes anymore, obviously.

Weiss bumped her hip into Yang’s. “It’s good to know we’re not alone, though, right?”

Yang squeezed her shoulder in response. “Yeah. That’s really good.”

**Author's Note:**

> i've never really had strong weiss sexuality headcanons (except Repressed™), but i realized ice queen could be a very brutal nickname for an ace person and just kinda went from there
> 
> yang is absolutely demisexual though, and this is a hill i will die on :P


End file.
